New Delhi: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Thursday questioned Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan’s move to promote alternative medicines and yoga for Covid-19 patients.
Vardhan had released a document Tuesday, prescribing protocol for Covid prevention and treatment of asymptomatic as well as mild cases based on ayurveda and yoga.
The protocol promotes use of ashwagandha, guduchi, pippali, Ayush 64 tablets in different doses, and yoga to prevent Covid, treat mild symptoms and for post-Covid self-care.
In a press release issued by IMA’s national president Rajan Sharma and secretary general R.V. Asokan, the association asked the minister five questions and sought his response to them.
Some of these questions were —‘How many of his ministerial colleagues have so far got treated under AYUSH protocols?’; and ‘What is stopping him from handing over Covid care and control to the AYUSH ministry (from his own health ministry?’
The association, which is the apex lobby of 3.5 lakh doctors in the country, demanded that “the Union health minister should come clean” on the questions.
“If not, he is inflicting a fraud on the nation and gullible patients by calling placebos as drugs,” it said. Placebo is a dummy pill.
ThePrint reached a health ministry spokesperson for a comment on the matter via email and text message, but there was no response until the time of publishing this report.
Also read: Need more studies to test Ayurveda on severe Covid patients, AYUSH staff say in new paper
‘Measure AYUSH treatment on two scientific parameters’
The minister, the IMA said, has “arranged impressive names of institutions to support his prescription” of yoga, and AYUSH therapies and medicines.
It said Vardhan promotes alternative medicine by admitting that “these are based on empirical evidence, which means that the evidence is anecdotal and based on individual subjective experiences”.
The association pointed out that the minister “himself relegates AYUSH as history rather than current by saying Ayurveda has contributed to foundation of modern medicine”.
The IMA clarified that science “demands” two things.
First, as listed in the release, is “reproducibility of a claim elsewhere in non-conflict situations”.
Replication of the claim is one of the “key ways scientists build confidence in the scientific merit of results”. When the result from one study is found to be consistent by another study, it is more likely to represent a reliable claim to new knowledge, according to the US-based The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Another important scientific parameter mentioned by the IMA is “double-blind control studies”, which is one the most respectable methods of clinical trial as it prevents bias in checking the efficacy of the treatment.
The 5 questions
The IMA asked five questions to Vardhan. “IMA prefers the following posers to the Union Health Minister who happens to be a modern medicine doctor,” it mentioned.
It questioned the minister if there is satisfactory evidence regarding the claims made from AYUSH studies done on Covid patients based on the two scientific requirements.
It further asked if those evidences are “weak or moderate or strong”, while adding that the evidence should be in public domain and available for scientific scrutiny.
The association also asked if all those who support claims of efficacy of AYUSH-based medicines and therapies are “prepared to subject themselves as volunteers to an independent prospective double-blind control study in prevention and treatment of Covid.
It also asked Vardhan that “how many of his ministerial colleagues have so far made the informed choice of getting treated under these (AYUSH) protocols?”
Lastly, it asked: “What is stopping him from handing over Covid care and control to the AYUSH ministry?”
Also read: Yoga, AYUSH medicines, community support — govt releases guidelines for post-Covid care
Ayush as practiced is a mish mash. HIT and miss .. my research on ashwagandha shows very few reliable published results over period of 50.year.
Yoga as physical exercise is good for most. But can become health issue for some.
Example no pranayam for those with weak retina.it can causec detached retina
Allopathy doctors seem to be scared of Ayurveda and Homeopathic medical systems ?
Even pankajakasthuri came up with medicine.. but not getting a nod from AYUSH ministry
It is but natural for IMA to ask question on evidence on AYUSH protocol for Covid-19. After all, it represents allopathic medicine “lobby” in this country. All along they have questioned and rejected non allopathy line of treatment using the same arguments.
For Vividh 19, Ayush Ministry has clearly said this is not exclusive but “inclusive” line of treatment; Additionally the auysh studies are work in progress but early evidence has shown positive results. Also, specific to Covid 19 all studies are work in progress be it allopathy, ayurvedic or others.
Also, IMA has not questioned the supporting literature instead has asked further evidence. Which means they do accept the line of evidence so far. I hope relevant researchers will respond with relevant evidence in time to come.
Let’s not be blind to the fact that non-allopathic line of treatment has been in existence for centuries. And Allopathic medicines produce effects that are less than perfect. For a situation like covid 19, it’s prudent to adopt an approach that provides best line of prevention or treatment be it allopathy or Ayush.
dear print what have you problem wirh ayurveda.Is there any pressure from your god father? Lots of people from uk us and australia are protesting against covid protocol by WHO and emphasizing on ayurveda.They are not pet like your editors.
Allopathic doctors are questioning practices that have been in use for thousands of years, don’t just look at money and make human beings lab rats , keep a hundi in front of your hospitals and clinics , we will surely make a contribution for the services you do. Dont play with people’s lifes just because you want to lead a luxurious life with your family!
Very very unfortunate for Indian medicines to have such institution.
Print is clearly pro left wing , some tries to defame BJP
Why IMA is making is making hue and cry on Ayurvedic treatment, after all allopathy has failed to treat Covid-19, they too are doing hit and trial, even antigen test kit does not give satisfactory result, so let Ayurveda do their part , every one is trying to get the solution.
Where was IMA and modern science 2000 years ago or more when Indian ayirveda treating with placebo ? Ayurveda is best cure for internal medicine system though we also give importance the present surgical invention of modern medical science.
I do not know about 2000 years ago, but 150 years ago, the average lifespan of an Indian was 40 years.
The choices are given, alternative medicine is real,it is govt responsibility to regulate,want to tell ima clowns that I am sixty seven have not used allopathic medicine for any ailment including cold and cough,even I become diabitic with 8.4 A1C ,in eighteen months manage to reduce to 6 consistently by food and basic ayurvedic medicine.pl know my both parents are diabitic.So don’t use nonsensical claim like fraud etc,enrich your knowledge.
Ayush minister gets treated in superspeciality hospital by AIIMS doctors specially flown in .
Allopathy is good only for diagnosis and emergency, not good at all for treating any disaese from root. In COVID also we all are in mercy of vaccacine. How long we can wait ? We all know there is no protocol/medicine in allopathy to increase immunity. We know all doctors also following ayurveda / yoga to protect themselves from CORONA, but shy in telling. BIG EGO.
Why can not be a world where all form of medicine work together and give best to the world. Why allopathy only trying to show their suprimacy.
Your statement that modern medicine cannot heal diseases from the root…people of my grandfather’s generation 100 years ago perished from plague, malaria, typhoid, tb, epilepsy, snake bites etc. Not until the invention of antibiotics did modern medicine able to save lives. It is quite clear that Ayurveda or siddha were not effective for public health 100 years ago. Today human mortality rates are in the seventies, hundred years ago it was in forties. Not to speak of several infants, children and mothers who died during childbirth in India.
I suggest Ayush practitioners emulate from the Japanese and Chinese. The Orientals also have their own traditional medicine systems. But they don’t make claims beforehand as Ayush people are trying to do. They have silently worked on subjecting their traditional remedies to modern science. That is why a Chinese traditional medicine researcher won the Nobel Prize for malaria. The Japanese had long believed in the medicinal capabilities of mushrooms, with intense scientific research they isolated the molecule in specific mushrooms that stimulates the innate immune system and one very common virus was scientifically shown to be eliminated by this immune stimulating molecule. This is truly evidence based medicine. Ayush people should move towards scientific standards and subject their treatments and methods openly before science.
IMA should ask his own member that how many doctors are going for ayurvedic med for curing their own illness. Any if this modern med is that great then why are pataint are still dying? All medicine line should be used in complimentary way. Harshvardhan is a wise and good at this.wish IMA doc would have wisdom too. With their this 5 question ..it is confirmed that this lobby never wanted to rise and spread or recognise other healing methods.
These morons think they can treat everything with chemicals!!!! I know at least 100 people using Giloy daily and are never sick!!! So,suck it IMA!!!!! Suck it hard!!!!
I think trying Ayurveda and yoga is better than trying shit drugs like HIV, Malaria, H1N1, pneumonia , TB etc without knowing the side effects and also without any idea that whether it will cure COVID which the govt. and the doctors proposed all these days….
I think trying Ayurveda and yoga is better than trying shit drugs like HIV, Malaria, H1N1, pneumonia , TB etc without knowing the side effects and also without any idea that whether it will cure COVID which the govt. and the doctors proposed all these days…
A big fraud by MNC pharma lobby thru’ their slave barking dogs of IMA on Indian public. First, they ask where is the evidence for cure of Covid by Ayurvedic treatment and yoga practice? Then they ensure that their captive ministry of AYUSH issues threats of arresting and cancellation of license to manufacture/practice Ayurveda/Homeopathy to Baba Ramdev, Dr. Giridhar Kaje (in B’lore) and many other alternative medicine (AM) practitioners around the country. They ensure that in the name of ‘public awareness’ the AYUSH ministry runs a anti-AM campaign on the All India Radio, DD and other media channels. They ensure that the online businesses of Ayurvedic and AM are handicapped by either disabling payment gateways to Patanjali and similar websites/ shared online platforms. They also ensure that AYUSH does not approve any so-called evidence based clinical studies for AM based treatments. These gangsters have infiltrated in our medical system like terrorists and jihadis, albeit with their white coats on, steths around their necks and with ‘Dr.’ title preceding their names and ‘MBBS, MS, MD, DM, FRCS, etc, etc, …..’ trailing behind! This mafia needs to be uprooted and thrown in the dustbin sooner than later. Modi ji needs to take this up post haste
Ridiculous to ask people to follow this when unproven. Prove each medicine by a rigorous scientific method of trials similar to allopathic methods, then there is no problem. All countries have their own ayurveda systems but they do not push it for serious ailments.
By the way how many ayush Doctors and nurses and ward people died of Covid19-the answer is none – Why? No one with serious Covid will go to these half bake country doctors.
How come the persons who doesn’t know anything about Ayurveda can speak about the same n blame Ayurveda??? Only Ayurvedic Vaidyas know how much effective it is. Ayurveda is considered as Indian Medicine and it has been proven effective in boosting our immunity and therby leading a healthy lifestyle. Every Medical science has its own importance. Don’t try to neglect those importance at least during this Pandemic situation.
Dr. Manjula. E. Sarath: Do you have any peer reviewed articles in any reputed journal to back your claims?
Run by a person who made a lot of personal insults against anybody that is proud of India’s heritage just like the British did to control India and it’s politics – you can’t expect anything else. A person who lives their country – doesn’t disown their own millennia own heritage, they take the good and disavow the bad, and embrace new techniques and ways from abroad to make their country stronger.
Lies, misrepresentation, and suppression of truth are the hallmarks of the current regime. They have managed to equate Hindutva with falsehood. The word will carry a negative connotation for generations to come.
Well. These big and powerful netas are not fools. They are actually smart. But they pretend to janta that they are fools. Coz our janta hates smart people. See how we treated with Dr Manmohan.
IMA going insane. If bitter chemical pills are answer to the illnesses why people are still suffering with ailments. Narrow minded crooks can’t recognise the existence of Ayurveda which is contributing for the health of the masses.
Han ab ayurveda se bhi dikkat hai…hogi bhi koi nayi baat nhi hai…to shekhar gupta , himani chandna aur baaki saare dALLAH media wale journalisms ko apne dusre pitaji medical practitioner joker nalayak ke halala centre jaake ilaaj krwana chahiye Corona chu manter ho jayega…aakhir journalism bhi to wahin se seekha hai??
Modi and the bunch of clowns he calls his ministers are known to never face the truth. No use asking them.
IMA worried about their hospital business can get affected if govt starts promoting ayush medicine.
Allopathic medicines are based on trials – a jugad, and have no scientific base or rationale. A certain medicine coming out of trials creates new diseases and these are then called side effects – Ha, ha
Allopathy still is worded in Latin so for Doctors it’s all Greek and Latin.
Does allopathy have any real medicine for Covid 19 – No!
And when it does say “have strong immunity” and Ayurveda does enhance immunity then what’s IMAs problem?
Let there be a debate- not just by the bookworm Latin speakers but by all other citizens and then the grim picture of allopaths having taken the world for a huge ride will emerge!
Every medicine has side effects. Be it herbal medicine or synthetic medicine. Why is it so? Because the body is nothing but a process of thermodynamics, kinetics and organic chemistry.
Ayush people have too simplistic understanding of the human body.
If you say ayush medicine has strong immunity please show your research and make it fully open for scientists to investigate.
In science claims are made only after studies are published and peer reviewed. Sadly in ayush claims are made before research is published and strong statistical evidence is actually available.
Good move by IMA. Harsh vardhsn is an idiot who does not understand science or medicine
Pl Ayurveda has its benefits, we have not been able to capitalise. Lot our books were destroyed forcefully rewritten to suit mutual emperor’s.. don’t you forget. It’s time we did serious research and got back our knowledge on the subject.when as much money spent on modern English medicine is spent on Ayurvedic medicine, we shall compare the two..
Why is IMA is feeling so insecure? Let us have an open mind and look at both Ayurveda and ALlopathy scientifically. There are areas where ayurvedic treatment provide better relief at low cost without having side effects if taken under medical care. The kind of medicines given under ALlopathy to treat covid patients load them with other complications in the body whereas this may not be case in ayurveda. It is irony of this country that the so called literate people have no scientific temper and confidence in themselves; on the other hand people world over are embracing Indian ethos and practices.
Does IMA has any cure/vaccine for Corona?…Is it sponsoring any trial to achieve those goals? If the answer is no…then shut the fuck up!!!! I’m a super specialist doctor and I know what IMA is….it’s a political union type organisation. Practitioners of modern medicine have no right to claim that alternative medicine can not be used if they themselves don’t have definitive cures or preventive measures to advice. BC! HCQ se leke monoclonal antibody tak tukka naar rahe logo ko phool patton se parhez?
IMA fears AYUSH and it is for this reason it is getting jealous and speaking such rubbish words against the most reliable system of Medicine called-AYUSH.
IMA cannot save the lives of the people who are dying of COVID and when AYUSH is doing good on it,IMA is unnecessarily asking stupid questions whose answers were thrown on their mouths by evidence based scientific researches of AYUSH.
My earnest request to the IMA,to please learn AYUSH before speaking about it.
Where is the evidence of cures. Claims require evidence that is based on science. Published in a journal with studies done in a controlled fashion under strict monitoring per the methods of science.
Even without taking ayush medicine, millions are recovering from Covid. So it is possible in India you might be taking concoctions prescribed by ayush and believe that you are cured because of ayush medicine when actually it was your own immune system that protected you.
Science does not rely on anecdotal evidence. Ayush people will not be able to understand it.
Ayurvedic medicine is farce.should be banned if you have any respect for human rights
IMA, do you know hydroxychloroquine has killed many patients?
He is a spineless dummy minister. Can’t stand for his own fraternity of doctors. Himself a postgraduate n he wants to treat corona with jadibooti.Jai ho
I don’t know what is the problem of IMA with Ayush !! The minister didn’t say that allopathic medicine is not to be used or prescribed just post covid n during to use these as well, any harm and ppl are free to or not to. They get 90% of the budget, they are opposed to bridge course but are happy to keep RMO in their nursing homes n treat alternative Dr as second rate,use them….
Allopathy is never stable one always keep on changing and Ayurveda is a proven standard science ok allopathy is imported for well being from other countries but Ayurveda is from vedic period.ideiots cannot understand value of Ayurveda
All the ministers are getting admitted in AIIMS,why not patanjali and get treated by Baba Ramdev?
Now Health Ministry should give befitting answer to IMA or apologize to IMA. But ministry should not silenced their voice by coercion or any other way.
Even if it is by miracle ,will you say no to it.
Common man struggling to get hospital beds and oxygen, all is not well in our country’s Covid fight. IMA should focus on raising those issues to Govt instead of highlighting Ayush pseudoscience. Common man very well knows Ayush cannot save him or her once symptoms escalate.
Where can we ask questions of IMA? They, by their inaction, implying complicity are putting majority of the population at serious risk. This may not be construed as a reply to this article
How many ayush doctors died on the frontlines of the epidemic?
How many important politicians got admitted to allopathic hospitals on getting severe Covid? We all know.
Almost 400-500 modern medicine doctors died I am sure many of them got it serving patients on the frontlines, some of them very young.
Dr Harsh Vardhan is in politics not in modern medical practice. He has to take care of ayush vote banks and “medicine nationalism”. The Ayush lobby is well entrenched in this government. Politics has to play before the gallery you know. There are nearly 1 million ayush practitioners in the country so count the votes please.
Dear sundar,
If u don’t know shit, better keep ur mouth shut na yar..
First of all ur comparision showed me your gratitude towards real docs..
Secondly nearly 10’s of my teachers and colleagues have been infected by this disease..
And one of them has even succumbed to death.. but wtf are you comparing it with?? Thats such a shame.
U yourself have your eyes closed and then say that u can’t see someone’s work.. useless and unworthy kind of person u r..
If you do not have any remedies in your dictionary why there is a cry?
Mind it, Nature has its own.
Still not understand so-called IMA. What a stupidity
If you don’t have any remedies in your dictionary why there is a cry?
Mind it, Nature has its own.
Still not understand so-called IMA. What a stupidity
Looks like IMA is living under a stone. Otherwise, they’d have heard of the thousands of patients cured of covid by siddha treatment in the govt treatment centers at Chennai. Look up details on Dr. Veerababu (siddha), running the center at Jawahar college premises, saligramam, Chennai.
Oh really Mr Chandra P ? Dr Veerababu cures COVID ? Why didn’t you tell that to Amit Shah & singer S.P. Balasubramanyam (RIP) ? And the singer did deserve to live a long and healthy life, not having hurt anyone or having malice towards any Muslims – termites to Amit Shah …
And then why didn’t you tell Donald Trump to seek help from this “doctor” who performs COVID miracles ?
Science does not rely on anecdotal evidence.
In medical science the proof emerges only from statistical study. Any claims of cures require scientific trials to prove or disprove.
How many doctors consume Chyawanprash daily?
At least one association with the spine. Bravo!
When you are calling indigenous Medicinine
a ‘plasbho’.and others who giving supporting comments for that! Are you people not questioning the essence of our country itself. Without complete knowledge on anything commenting on that shows how mature or immature u people are.
Well said. Why is he promising then that vaccine will be available by early ’21?
Nitin Gadkari underwent bariatric surgery in 2011. It is well known that Bariatic surgery reduces type 2 diabetes. However Gadkari claims that he drinks cow piss everyday and this reduced his diabetes.
They will take the best allopathic treatment for themselves but in front of the public they will push for what gives them votes.
I hope all our lawmakers at both Central and State levels take genuine responsibility for public health.
Ha ha ha
Tell me how it bring votes.
Fools, Home Minister got himself admitted in Patanjali’s Hospital and he was treated by Baba Ramdev with Ayurvedic medicines.
Where do you get your news ? Whatsapp forwards ?? Mr. Shah got admitted to AIIMS (established by Nehru) to get treated , so did pragya thakur who was claiming gau mata cured her …..also Ramdev’s chela for admitted to AIIMS after he has some disease….but donkeys like you though have education but without any success with brain development as you are andhbhakt-turds !
Arrey …. Sarcasm bhaiya, Sarcasm ….
Mullah spotted
Everyone knows that from the home minister to bjp spokesperson got themselves treated at AIIMS and Medanta. The biggest hypocrite are in the government.
Wahi to bhai tu kahan ramdev ke chakkar mai pda hai…andh momino ko to joker nalayak ke halala centre mai jana chahiye jahan wo paida hue the
HM Amit Shah had treatment in Medanta Hospital of Gurugram and AIIMS in Delhi. To the best of my knowledge, neither of them are Ayurvedic Hospitals. I cann say with certainty that the doctors there were not coerced to offer Ayurvedic treatment.
Who told you that bro? He was admitted in AIIMS. Don’t always follow whatsapp university.
Rommel brother. How much you people get to spread this kind of cheap, fake publicity?
He was admitted to AIIMS, not jhopra of some Baba. You can search it as well on Google.
You mean that Medanta and AIIMS are run by Ramdev.
Treated for his intellectual impotence?
From Where u get these false news buddy…he was admitted 1st into private hospital in gurgaon then for 13days in AIIMS in August and again in AIIMS in mid September…